Line editing from a character’s viewpoint

What is line editing from a character’s viewpoint? A line editor has to learn to look at what is happening in a scene from the viewpoint character’s perspective in order to catch errors in how the story is conveyed. Here’s an example. Lois, the narrator (“I”), is hiding in a bathroom at an urgent care…

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Additional services for a book editing business

Need ideas for additional services for a book editing business? Freelance editors often want to expand their services to meet client needs or just to add some variety to their day. I sympathize completely! I started out as a copy editor and while I enjoyed applying a specific style guide consistently across 80,000 words, it…

different types of editing
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Editorial Distinctions: Different Types of Editing

Knowing the different types of editing will help you understand how they can often be fused together in a freelance editor’s project. The 3 Different Types of Editing Developmental editing (abbreviated DE or dev) looks at the big-picture concerns of a manuscript (ms). For nonfiction, we would ask: Is the structure logical? Is the argument…

beginning copyediting for fiction
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Avoiding “Here’s How I Would Write it” as an Editor

Have you used the “here’s how I would write it” editorial query? In making editorial suggestions, editors sometimes drift into “here’s how I would write it” territory, which is something I discourage. Authors don’t care what you would have done. They want to learn what they can do that will make their manuscript better. What…

beginning line editing for fiction.

Ask the Editor: Line Editing During a Developmental Edit

To help editors struggling with the overlap in different types of editing, we need to revisit line editing vs developmental editing. From my inbox: “I’m a little confused about how much line editing is expected during a developmental edit. Are we expected to smooth over all of the tics in the author’s writing that might…

foundations of storytelling for writers.
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Using other people’s characters to inspire you

Writers’ Topic: Character Inspiration Can writers get character inspiration from other writers? Using an existing character can be a good jumping off point to a new character. A student once asked, “I often find B characters in novels more interesting than the leads, yet they’re never fully developed (hence the B aspect). I wonder if…

Creating Classes and Information Products

Using information products to boost your bottom line

How can information products boost your business’s bottom line? People like to pretend that you can write a book and make passive income from it.  You can’t.  If you write a book and stick it up on Amazon and never do anything to promote or market it, you’re not going to sell any copies. Okay,…